Posts Tagged ‘t-mobile’

When someone dies, it can be really tricky getting a company to believe you. And so, to T-Mobile, who consistently refused to believe a widow when she’d told them that her husband had passed away. The mobile company wouldn’t cancel his monthly contract, so she decided to prove a point.

She took his ashes into one of their stores.

Maria Raybould had been threatened with bailiffs by T-Mobile and told she had to pay a cancellation fee after her husband David died. As if she wasn’t dealing with enough. After showing T-Mobile a death certificate, funeral bills, she decided to show them an urn full of remains.

Still, T-Mobile weren’t having it and wanted some money from a woman who was clearly grieving.

She said: “I’ve been up to the shop with the death certificate, with a letter from the crematorium, the funeral bills – even his ashes. I took in everything I could. I lost it in the shop. I gave them 20 minutes to sort it out. I went outside and had a panic attack. When I went back in the girl told me she had spoken to the manager and they were going to stop the contract. Then I had another letter about the bailiffs.”

Mrs Raybould said that her son had got in touch with T-Mobile on the day after her husband’s death, trying to cancel the contract, but clearly, seeing a death certificate and everything else, it was all to no avail. Even after visiting with his ashes, she still received demands for bills and cancellation charges.

She added: ”How dare they put me and my sons through this after all we have been through already. I wouldn’t want anyone to go through what we have gone through over the last few months. It was easier for us to bury him than sort this out.”

T-Mobile have now said sorry for all this, blaming it all on an automated process that cancels the balance, which meant that letters were still being sent out.

A spokesman said: “We apologise to Mrs Raybould for any distress caused at this difficult time. We can confirm that the account has been closed and the balance cleared.”

Orange and T-Mobile are whacking their prices up again which means your monthly bill is going to make you angrier and more jaded than Justin Bieber.

The two networks, who merged under the EE umbrella, won’t be letting anyone get out of their contracts without heavy penalty either. So basically, a lot of you will be paying more for a signal that’s become increasingly patchy since they started mucking around with 4G.

Great.

“Due to inflation, which directly affects the costs of running our business, we’ve had to re-evaluate our prices and introduce an increase,” said Orange with a straight face.

Orange customers will see a hike in price on 10th April while T-Mobile customers will get hit in the pocket on 9th May. And this is after both companies whacked their prices up just last year and if you try and get out of your contract, you’ll have to pay the remainder (Ofcom are currently investigating this).

Citizens! Prepare accordingly because 4G is coming to the UK, courtesy of Orange and T-Mobile. The mobile providers have had approval from Ofcom to bring 4G to the UK from as early as September 11th. You know, in a few weeks from NOW!

The word is that the requisite dongles and modems should be available to us mere mortals by the end of the year, with 4G-specific phones probably on the market shortly afterwards.

The two companies have stolen a huge march on their rivals, who will have to hang about until the government auctions off the 4G spectrum early next year. Not surprisingly, some of them are livid, with Vodafone saying:

“We are frankly shocked that Ofcom has reached this decision. The regulator has shown a careless disregard for the best interests of consumers, businesses and the wider economy through its refusal to properly regard the competitive distortion created by allowing one operator to run services before the ground has been laid for a fully competitive 4G market.”

What’s more, the advent of proper speedy mobile broadband could also lead to a name change for T-Mobile and Orange – it’s being suggested that they might make their corporate union more official and switch to the clumsy joint Everything Everywhere moniker that they’ve been toying with over the past year or so.

They’re hardly denying it either, with an Everything Everywhere spokesvoice mewling: “It’s well known that we ran a brand review last year. The outcome of that brand review is confidential. However what we can say is that we remain committed to our hugely successful brands Orange and T-Mobile and continue to invest in them for the foreseeable future. Any suggestion otherwise is entirely speculative.”

We reckon that a name change is a dead cert then. Prepare to burn all of that T-Mobile and Orange-branded clothing that you all love so much – today is all about CHANGE.

There’s nothing quite like social media and ‘the blogosphere’ when it comes to escalating a grievance against a large corporation. Natalie Guest has whipped up a storm against T-Mobile over the past few hours, thanks to her tale of woe about the enormous mobile provider.

It’s all to do with the small matter of her being charged £522.66 instead of the usual monthly £20 for her T-Mobile contract phone. As Natalie said in her email to T-Mobile on August 6th…

“After some investigation via my online billing account, it looks like there has been some form of technical/network error. I went to Germany for 3 days last month (being careful to turn off all data roaming and mobile internet services), and whilst I was there sent a text to my friend Christian, as he used to live in Munich.

For some reason this same text got replicated and sent to him thousands of times. I had no notification of this on my phone – they didn’t appear in my ‘sent’ box – but he did receive the same text multiple times. Thinking it was an issue at his end, he contacted his provider – O2 – who thought it was probably a problem with his handset.”

When Natalie brought the textual oddness to the attention of T-Mobile, they said that they would investigate it but couldn’t guarantee a refund and would text her within five working days. As she told T-Mobile…

“…obviously, this was a technical glitch – whether that was one to do with your network or the German network. It wouldn’t be physically possible for me to send the same text 6 times a minute for 3 days without sleeping, even if I had any discernible reason to want to do this. I’ve attached a screenshot (below) so you can see the sort of thing I’m talking about.”

Ten days have gone by and Natalie still hasn’t heard anything back from T-Mobile. In fact she has cancelled her direct debit so that the huge, disputed sum isn’t paid out of her bank account. But, there is SOME communication from them – instead of a resolution of her situation, she says that she is being plagued by…

“• Daily automated texts from T-Mobile asking me to pay my outstanding bill, in order to avoid an interruption in services.

• Daily calls from TMobile asking me to pay my bill, from people with no knowledge of the issue. Upon asking them to read through my notes, they say the issue is being “investigated”. I ask them to please stop phoning until some progress has been made, or to put a note on my file asking people not to phone me. They claim that this is impossible as “calls are automated”. I ask whether I’m going to be cut off. They say “not until the 31st, and it should be dealt with by then”. I have absolutely zero confidence that the issue will be dealt with by then.

• Frequent missed calls (I’ve been in theatres a lot over the past week, so haven’t always been able to pick up) which, once I ring back (which I do, in case the issue has actually been resolved), put me straight back into the TMobile automated service and ask me to press 1 or 2 or whatever. Once I get through to someone, they have no idea what the previous call was about.

• Frequent (although not quite daily) calls from TMobile telling me I’m a “loyal customer” and so am eligible for some sort of deal.

• Frequent (although not quite daily) texts from TMobile asking me to rate how I felt my customer service was today. FYI, my ratings are very low at the moment, which I presume is what is triggering the “loyal customer” phone calls.”

But nothing regarding the huge bill that Natalie says has been run up in her name in error. Natalie’s blog has been all over Twitter and Facebook today, and it’ll be interesting to see if the blanket of negative publicity for T-Mobile will make them pull their finger out and sort this thing out. We’ll be watching and will keep you informed…

EDIT: As Natalie says in the comments below… “Just had a phonecall from a very lovely and helpful lady called Jacqueline, to tell me that they’ve removed all of the charges for the month & reinstated my account.” HOORAY!

Here’s some footage of a man systematically destroying the T-Mobile shop in Manchester’s Market Street over the weekend. We know not why he did what he did – do any of you know him?

Perhaps he’s been charged for going over his monthly data allowance. Perhaps he begrudges a 4% rise in his monthly contract payment. Perhaps he’s outraged that T-Mobile have welched on paying billions of pounds in UK tax, even though it’s Vodafone that did that. Perhaps it’s some kind of ‘viral’ that we’re too dim to understand?

Whatever it is, it looks as if he’s having fun and he doesn’t kick up a fuss when the cops arrive, which is terribly British. Well done… we think.

T-Mobile have become the latest mobile provider to stop using a phone abroad from being as potentially expensive as paying for back-street liposuction. They’ve brought in a new, capped mobile data plan for those of you who can still actually afford to travel anywhere beyond the end of your own street.

O2, Vodafone and Three have recently brought in similar revised plans, but T-Mobile’s have decided to make theirs more plentiful and complicated, covering the entire globe with their new ‘price plans’.

If you’re a T-Mobile user, you can get 3MB of data in the EU for only £1.00 but be warned, as the same amount of data will set you back £25 in places like Cuba and Brazil.

Back to Europe – if you’re going to pay £1.00 for 3MB, you might as well fork out £2.50 and get 10MB, or £10 for 50MB. The service is available to PAYG customers as well, with slightly different tariffs on offer. The new way of doing things begins tomorrow (Tuesday).

Remember when Orange caused mild outrage towards the end of last year when they put up the price of their pay-monthly tariff? But, it was all legal and above board because the price hike was just below the retail price index and customers were unable to cancel their contracts as a result.

Well now, buoyed by the success of that sneaky little trick, Orange’s partners in Everything Everywhere, T-Mobile, are also increasing their pay-monthly prices, by 3.7% from 9th May. Again, as it’s a figure that is lower than the RPI, there’s nothing anyone can do to stop them.

Customers who had joined T-Mobile before 1st February will be affected, but those on You Fix, Full Monty and other currently-marketed plans won’t be as those tariffs already have the price increase built into them.

Although it seems like a massive liberty, T-Mobile say that on a £15 plan, the increase will mean an extra 55p per month for their customers. Fair enough, or devious and underhand. You tell us.

The latest trend among mobile phone networks is to move away from their restrictive ‘fair use’ data policies and open up their pipes for unlimited mobile-flavoured goodness. At a price, obviously. OBVIOUSLY.

Three did it a while and now T-Mobile are jumping on the premium bandwagon with their new Full Monty tariff, which launches on 1st February. Starting at £36 a month, users will get unlimited data alongside unlimited cross network calls and text messages. Hold on – what’s this? The calls are limited to an amount of 2,000 a month? Only 2,000? For truly unlimited calling, you’ll need to fork out £41 a month. Mind you, if you’re making more than 2,000 calls in a month, you’re not long for this world anyway.

Take note that the Full Monty ‘starts’ at £36 a month – if you’ve got an iPhone 4S, you’re looking at forking out £61 a month for the tariff. So then – lots of money for ‘unlimited’ data, kind of like the unlimited data that lots of us were paying much less for a couple of years ago. Great stuff.

Here’s two more head-to-heads for your consideration in our Worst Company of 2011 contest – it’s a communications special as phone-type providers Orange and Talk Talk tussle in the first one, while Vodafone and T-Mobile go at each other in the second. You’ve got until the end of Boxing Day to cast your vote in this first round, just in case you need lots of time to think about it and you can do all of your voting in one place here.

It’s late. Too late to mess about with introductions. So let’s get on with it then. All thanks to HotUKDeals.

When we were kids, advent calendars were simple. Every morning, you’d open that day’s door and, if you were lucky, you got to see a nice picture. The posh kids had ones with chocolate in them. Bastards.

Fast forward to the brink of 2012, and what’s this we see before our baffled eyes? Why it’s a Lego City advent calendar. And it doesn’t even have any chocolate in it. So why is everyone so pleased that it’s only £13.49? Beats us.

We’re just hours away from the launch of the iPhone 5. Oh, sorry, it’s the iPhone 4S isn’t it? That’s right iPhone fans, Apple couldn’t be bothered to come up with anything new for you this year, and you’ll just have to suck it up.

Fortunately, there are plenty of other alternatives out there for all you phone fans. Orange have an offer at the moment where you can buy a selected handset for only £49.99 and get yourself a free Orange cash card that has been pre-loaded with £25 for you to spend.

Sticking with mobiles and moving over to T-Mobile, they’ve got a SIM-only offer on where £7.50 a month will get you 600 talky minutes, 500 texts and unlimited internet (possibly subject to fair use). Seems reasonable.

Oh, and there’s another mobile offer while you’re still paying attention. SIM-only again, and from 3, you’ll get 300 minutes, 3,000 texts (yes, 3,000) and 1GB of internet. It’s a twelve month offer at £10 per month, but there’s £54.54 available in Quidco cashback. Goodnight.

(deals found by HUKD members andyp19uk, goonertillidie, trackdayking and pocklington)

Everything Everywhere is going to let customers of its T-Mobile and Orange brands use both networks’ 3G signals.

Isn’t that nice?

This comes on the back of the companies allowing customers to use both networks for 2G voice and SMS purposes.

“Not only will customers be able to talk in places they weren’t able to before, they’ll also now be able to access the internet, social networks or download emails at improved speeds, in more places,” Everything Everywhere chief Olaf Swantee said in a statement.

Lovely name that.

There’s also going to be “additional 2G improvements” so that everything else runs better. Customers may recall that, when the 2G network-sharing switch-on happened, they had to register to the other network’s signal. This time around, this isn’t going to be the case.

What will happen now is that you’ll receive a text message telling you that you can now use both signals, and all you have to do to make this happen is switch your phone on-and-off.

The Apple iPhone 4S, which isn’t exactly a great leap forward in… uh… anything, will be in the shops next week for you to gobble up.

But how much is it going to cost you?

Well, the Apple store will be flogging it for £499 for the 16GB model, the 32 GB version costing £599 and the 64GB device setting you back £699. Android users will be wondering why people are willing to spend so much on a handset.

Orange and T-Mobile have revealed their price plans.

You can get the phone with Orange (16GB) for free if you sign up for two years and spend £46 a month. T-Mobile are offering nearly the same deal, only they want you to spend £45.96 a month.

A two year contract with Vodafone is also priced at £46 while a 12 month contract is £51 a month plus £139 for the phone.

Based on a £20 per month two year contract from Orange, the 32 GB phone will cost £449, with the 64GB on the same contract setting to back £519.99. T-Mobile customers, the prices are different with the 32GB handset costing £379 and the 64GB asking you to fork out £449 if you commit to a 24 month deal costing £25.45 a month.

The Mirror report that Three are offering the 16GB iPhone 4S free with a two year £43 a month contract, with a £30 a month contract costing £129 upfront for the handset. The 32 GB costs £90 upfront on a £43 a month two year contract. The 64GB handset costs £180 upfront on a £43 a month contract or £309 on a £30 a month deal.

However, there are deals to be had. If you don’t mind having a Vodafone contract, then QuidCo have a handful of deals that could well interest you. Click here to see them.

Traffic wardens – what a shower of bastards they are. A fact that is hammered home in T-Mobile’s new ‘viral’ advert or whatever the frigging sod they call these things these days.

It’s nothing original – everyone hates traffic wardens and there’s nothing more certain to light our personal fireworks than getting a ticket slapped on our windscreens by these parking parasites. But it’s executed brilliantly and you’ll cry like it’s the sad bit in Titanic when the poor victims realise they’ve actually been had all along. Probably.

It will come as no surprise to you that the police and government are guilt-tripping/forcing the hand of mobile operators to start handing over personal details to them so they can try and catch some of those dastardly looters and rioters that you may have seen on the news recently.

Everything Everywhere, the umbrella company who own Orange and T-Mobile, have confirmed that they’ll be working with police to help catch the ne’er-do-wells through the data of their mobiles.

T3 report that the police are invoking the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA), which means they can ask Everything Everywhere to hand over information on phone calls made by rioters, including where the calls were made, who the calls were made to and who the phone is registered to.

Of course, they’ll have to go wade through a whole host of people who had nothing to do with the riots, but not to worry.

Everything Everywhere are not the first mobile service provider to offer assistance to the police, with BlackBerry being the first of the big guns to announce that they would also be turning over data to the police concerning users who had been using the encrypted BlackBerry Messaging (BBM) service to organise the rioting.

What will the government do with data that doesn’t having any bearing on the riots? Only time will tell, but it doesn’t feel like this is the last we’ll hear of this story.

You might have heard that Orange and T-Mobile have entered into a joint venture and are now run by a new company, Everything Everywhere.

You may already have noticed the benefits of this joint venture by being able to use signal from T-Mobile as well as Orange to get better coverage.

Because Orange is now part of this new company your terms will now be with Everything Everywhere Limited, not Orange Personal Communications Services Limited.

Don’t worry though, nothing else changes, you’ll still get the great service from Orange at the price that you’re paying today.

Readers thought this might be a sneaky back door for Orange to introduce new charges to existing customers without triggering the right to cancellation-without-penalty. Bitterwallet contacted Orange to ask what’s occurring, to which a spokesperson replied:

Just to confirm that since the merger we’ve been transitioning millions of customers to EE terms in phases, and we are currently doing this for various segments of customers.

To reiterate, it is just the company name that is changing – there are no changes to services or pricing for our customers.

Good news for customers, then. But as cautious reader Claire pointed out, the terms and conditions cover more than services and pricing; while all service provider contracts have to follow Ofcom guidelines and consumer law, there are variations between them. We’ll be having a look at the two sets of terms over the next few days to see if we spot anything; if you’re already having a snoop through the small print like a regular Columbo, let us know what you find.